The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will not interfere with the verdict of the Allahabad High Court, which had quashed Dr Kafeel Khan’s detention under the National Security Act (NSA). The court had ordered his immediate release.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde termed the judgement as very good, while it was hearing the Uttar Pradesh government’s plea challenging the September 1 verdict of the HC.

“We will not interfere in the judgement. However, the observation will not impact any other proceedings,” the bench, also comprising justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, told the apex court that the high court’s decision acquits Khan in the criminal proceedings.

“Criminal cases will be decided on their own merits,” the bench said.

Kafeel Khan took to Twitter on Thursday and thanked everyone who supported him. "And thank to everyone across globe who prayed for me ," he wrote.

He had hit the headlines after the 2017 tragedy at Gorakhpur's Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College, in which several children died due to a lack of oxygen cylinders. Initially, he was hailed as a saviour for arranging emergency oxygen cylinders but later faced action along with nine other doctors and staff members of the hospital, all of whom were released on bail later.

In its September 1 verdict, the high court had ordered Khan’s immediate release, saying his speech at the AMU didn't promote hatred or violence and gave a call for national integrity.

The high court had said that the Aligarh district magistrate, who had passed the order for Khan's detention, did a “selective reading” of his speech, “ignoring its true intent”.

The high court had allowed the petition filed by Khan's mother, Nuzhat Parveen, and said the detention order by the district magistrate was illegal.